NO ONE who witnessed it can forget the powerful yet discomforting sight of 12-year-old Prince Harry walking behind his mother’s coffin in the full glare of the world’s gaze.

To lose your mother at any age is potentially ruinous to one’s state of mind — but for it to happen so suddenly, senselessly and publicly must have made it particularly unbearable for such a young and as yet undeveloped brain to cope with.

No one who witnessed it can forget 12-year-old Prince Harry walking behind his mother’s coffin

So for Prince Harry to have turned into such an impressive young man is testament not only to his family, but to his own decision to seek help for the issues he has now admirably owned up to.

But he would probably be the first to admit that, in terms of mental health problems, he is one of the lucky ones in that he was surrounded by a vast support network and could afford the services of what he refers to as “a shrink”.

Equally, his problems stemmed from a definable event — the untimely death of his mother.

Yet Harry has turned into an incredible young man and revealed his internal battles

No doubt his commendable frankness will help to chip away at the perceived stigma of “talking about it” when faced either with grief or the more modern scourge of work and relationship-related anxieties.

But what of those outside the gilded cage of middle or upper-class existence at the other, less privileged end of the mental health spectrum?

Those who are predisposed to a lifetime of dealing with what some describe as the “washing-machine” cycle of negative thoughts that plague them regardless of events or circumstances?

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Those for whom simply “talking about it” either isn’t an option or won’t even scratch the surface of the constant feeling of instability that threatens to destroy them?

Occasional visits to a shrink won’t solve their issues. They need support they can tap into for the rest of their lives — and that’s expensive.

Mental health, and the lack of ongoing state support for those who suffer, is one of the great scandals of the modern age.

He helped launch mental health campaign Heads Together with brother Prince William and Kate Middleton

The debilitating conditions that exist under its banner are too great to cover here. But my own limited experience as an ambassador for Help for Heroes tells me that, in most cases, the sustained help needed for post-traumatic stress disorder sufferers alone just isn’t available on the NHS.

“Lost your leg in Afghanistan?” They’ll save your life and sort you out with a prosthetic. But . . . “Lost your mind?” It’s far trickier to navigate your way to a solution.

They’re the ones with “hidden wounds”, as the charity so aptly describes it, and the invisibility of mental health issues means there is less understanding from society in general.

Prince Harry reveals his 20-year agony over Princess Diana’s death leading to regular counselling

One in four people has a common mental disorder and the annual economic and social cost of mental illness is £105billion — on a par with the entire annual NHS budget.

With reported money troubles, one wonders whether she is the party scene version of Mehran Karimi Nasseri, the Iranian refugee who spent 18 years living in Terminal 1 of Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport because he had nowhere else to go.

Meanwhile, Nancy has revealed that she often makes her own clothes “with the help of a designer”, and below is the latest creation.

Don’t give up the day job, love.

Whatever it is.

United Airlines in freefall

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All new suggestions welcome. My favourite so far being: “United puts the hospital into hospitality.”

Gwyneth's on the case

GWYNETH PALTROW is well known for dishing out healthy lifestyle advice on her website Goop.

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